A/N - Hey folks. Once again, your feedback has been fantastic. I hope that I can keep them going :)
I also wanted to say sorry for not posting this sooner. My sister finally had her baby. A little girl, born two weeks early but she got here safely, which is all that matters of course. Ten fingers, ten toes and a mop of black hair. She's a stunner.
So this is for my new little niece - the first of many I hope.
Welcome to the world little one, it's a hell of a ride.
So enjoy and review folks. I do so love know what you all think!
:)
Chapter Five – Bury Me In Your Lies
Olivia smiled as Etta scooped a spoonful of oatmeal, getting more on her cheeks then in her mouth.
"You know, sometimes I think you do that on purpose."
Etta grinned and pointed towards the living room.
"Pop."
"Pop's still sleeping darling. He's tired."
"Ok. Here."
Etta scooped up a spoon of her oatmeal, offering it to Olivia. Olivia grinned, allowing Etta to feed her the oatmeal, wiping her mouth when most of it ended up on her cheek.
"Thank you sweetie."
Etta flashed another smile.
"Ok. Good."
Etta went back to her oatmeal and Olivia sipped on her coffee while she looked over the file that Walter had pointed out to them last night. All of the scientists that the ability but none had a motive. The only reason that Brian Turlock stood out was because he pursed a law suit that left the company more than a little dented. The files never stated why but the company paid out millions of dollars but it definitely gave them a lead. But when Olivia had gone onto the FBI database, she had discovered that Brian Turlock had definitely gone for the quiet life, choosing to teach science at the local high school.
"Hello beautiful ladies."
Peter came into the kitchen, freshly showered and smelling of soap. He gave Etta a quick kiss before leaning over and capturing Olivia's lips with his own. He tasted like toothpaste. He smiled against her mouth as his fingers traced her spine, causing her to shiver. He kissed her again, this time a little harder before finally stepping back.
"You are bad news, Mrs Bishop."
"How so?"
"Very distracting and addictive."
Olivia smiled.
"You might need to join a group for that."
"Dada, here."
Etta offered Peter a spoon of oatmeal, giggling when he rubbed his stomach dramatically.
"Yummy. You better eat up before I get it."
"No."
Peter laughed as he moved away to pour himself a coffee. He glanced at Olivia before putting a couple of slices of bread into the toaster. He took a banana from the fruit basket sat down beside Etta. As soon as she spotted the banana, she was all smiles, her hand extended.
"Nana."
Peter broke it in half, handing one to Etta, who stuffed it in her mouth. When the toast finally popped up, he buttered it and spread on a thick layer of strawberry jam before placing it in front of Olivia.
"Eat, wife of mine. It's going to be a long day."
"What about you?"
"I will be joining my daughter in the joys of oatmeal. Walter is sleeping like a log."
"I think it was the combination of the whiskey and the files. Hopefully, he'll be up soon. I get the feeling we might have to pay Kathleen extra if we leave her alone with him and Etta."
Peter laughed as he put brown sugar and cream into his oatmeal. Olivia ate her toast, handing one of the thick crusts to Etta, who sucked the jam off before smearing it into her left over oatmeal. Messy and fed, Olivia took her up to her bedroom to get cleaned and changed before Kathleen arrived.
When they arrived at the high school, class was in session. Olivia wanted to go the main office but Peter shook his head at the idea, pointing out a young girl who was making her way out from the school. Peter approached her, wearing his best smile.
"Hi there. Would you be able to help us?"
The girl smiled in return, cocking her hip.
"With what?"
"We're looking for Mr Turlock."
The girl sighed.
"He's boring. And not as cute as you. Are you going to be teaching here?"
Peter chuckled, passing a glance at Olivia.
"No, I'm afraid not. Do you know where his class is?"
"Yes. I can take you there if you like."
"That would be appreciated."
Olivia hung back, allowing them to walk ahead. Peter chatted with the girl easily and Olivia could almost see the charm working. Peter's charm could almost be listed as a deadly weapon. Eventually, they stopped and the girl pointed to the door.
"Here it is. I hope you reconsider teaching here. I get the feeling no one would skip your class."
"Thanks for your help."
The girl smiled widely before moving away from them and heading back out of the high school. Peter knocked and they entered the class room. Brian Turlock was speaking about genetics and the ethics behind them. Pausing mid-sentence when he realised there were new additions to his class. Olivia and Peter hung back until the bell clanged loudly and the kids filed out of the room. Brian Turlock leaned against the blackboard, arms over his chest, watching them until the last kid had left the room.
"And you are?"
"Agent Dunham and Peter Bishop."
"I presume that you have I.D?"
Peter and Olivia moved closer and showed their identification. Brian frowned.
"What do you want?"
"We have a few questions about the lawsuit that you filed five years ago against Trualific Sciences."
"I signed a confidentiality agreement. I'm not that stupid."
"We work for the FBI. Whatever confidentiality agreement you signed does not matter."
Brian sighed.
"Fine."
Peter moved forward, spinning the small globe on Brian's desk.
"Why did you sue?"
Brian sat down in the seat behind his desk.
"My wife and I, we were having trouble conceiving. One of the bonuses of working there was that I was able to get my wife the treatment we needed. They created our daughter. When Katie was born, my wife haemorrhaged and died."
"You sued over her death."
"No. I sued over our daughter Katie."
Olivia frowned.
"Why?"
Brian swallowed heavily.
"You need to understand, I love my daughter very much. But they made the mistake And now we are paying for it. We will be paying for it for the rest of our lives."
"Why?"
"I spent my time there creating children. Beautiful children for people who desired them desperately. And the one time they were meant to return the favour and they failed. My daughter has Down Syndrome."
Olivia flicked through the information she had collected during her pregnancy with Etta. Her doctor had warned her of the risks, the fact that one in every six hundred and ninety-one children are born with the syndrome. She had done research on the disease, mostly scaring herself more than anything thing else. Etta was born perfect obviously but the thought lingered in her mind as Etta grew. She had seen pictures of the children, knew of the mental retardation and limited skills that they were forced to live with.
"How did a child created in a test tube have Down Syndrome?"
Brian shook his head.
"There are great risks with the IVF treatments. The powerful hormones given to women in order to stimulate release of several eggs can loosen the structure of the chromosomes."
"Which causes Down Syndrome. So you sued the company."
"Yes but not for me. If was for Katie. She will need care for the rest of her life. When I am gone, she will keep on living."
Brian studied them. Olivia could see the desperation.
"I love my daughter. You understand that, don't you? I love her."
"We need to look at every angle."
"Is that why you asked me about the lawsuit? Something has happened, hasn't it?
"Five children have gone missing, all of them products of IVF. All of them from your lab around the time that you were employed there. We need to know why."
Brian shook his head, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.
"I'm not sure what I'm meant to tell you."
"They were all developed while you were working there."
Brian frowned.
"That's why you're here, isn't it? You think I had something to do with it."
"Mr Turlock, we need to look at all angles"
"As you have already said. You really think that I was so angry that I would be willing to take innocent children?"
"Mr Turlock-"
"I was angry with the company. Why would I hurt innocent children?"
Brian moved closer to Olivia but he halted when Peter stepped between them, blocking his path.
"Mr Turlock, take a step back."
When he didn't move, Peter placed a hand on Brian's chest, pushing slightly.
"Now."
Brian, seeming to gather his senses, took a few steps back, breathing heavily. Peter glanced at Olivia who nodded slightly. She glanced over Peter's shoulder to Brian, who was crying silently. She felt sorry for him. She moved around Peter, her hands up slightly.
"We didn't come here to upset you, Mr Turlock. We needed to ask these questions to find these children. Do you know of anyone who may want to hurt them?"
Brian shook his head.
"Not off the top of my head. They were all very dedicated to what they were doing."
Olivia nodded.
"If you think of anything, give me a call."
Brian nodded and shifted back to his seat behind his desk, sitting down hard. They slipped from the room, Olivia already feeling frustrated.
"Ok, so back to square one. We need to go back to the other scientists. Someone knows something."